Just a Circus Monster
by frenchfrieswithtoast
Summary: Yuma was born with horns. Sold to the Circus, all hopes of fitting into human society are crushed. But when he meets his new keeper, IA, his thoughts might change direction. I don't own the song Circus Monster or Vocaloid. Cover picture made by yours truly.
1. My life

**Hey guys~! It's Frenchfrieswithtoast! Here's another story! I just wanted to write about Circus Monster, Yuma version. Hooray for Yuma! He's one of my top 5 Vocaloids! **

**Please enjoy, and review!**

Chapter 1: My life

I was born with green horns. Because of those horns, I was abused by my parents. Because of those horns, I was bullied at school. Because of those horns, I was considered a freak.

My name's Yuma by the way. Just Yuma. No surname whatsoever. I have the appearance of one of the weirdest human beings ever lived- oh wait. Am I even considered a human? Anyway, I have messy _pink_ hair and am quite tall. Sigh.

On my 18th birthday, I was sold to the Circus. I had been to the Circus before, on a field trip. And that place was scary, so going to the place of my nightmares and living there for who-knows-how-long was going to be a breeze. Not.

The Circus's Ringmaster is a man by the name of Al. He is extremely cruel and takes joy in abusing his workers.

"One more soul to torture," he told his assistant, Ann, when I came.

Ann gave a terrified nod. Unlike her boss, she was timid, quiet and jumpy. Also, she was gentle.

My role in the Circus was to be a Circus Monster. I was required to make the most… terrifying noises ever while acting like a monster. Believe me, making those noises makes my throat hurt, but I can't complain; Al would just hit me.

Oh yes, I forgot: at the end of every act, Ann would have to come up to me and whip me. But after her first day doing that, she refused, saying that it wasn't right to hit a normal human being.

"It's not a human, you stupid cow!" Al shrieked, slapping her hard across her cheek.

"I still refuse! You are nothing but a criminal! A tyrant!" Ann screamed, staggering back from the force he put into his blow.

A year ago, Sweet Ann died protecting me.

After Ann's death, Al took up her job. He hit, and it hurt. A lot.


	2. IA

**Hey guys! Before we start, I would like to thank TopazVampire1999, Keenakeen and Mew SunsetStar! All the support means a lot to me! Thank you guys so much!**

**Soooooooo, here's the chapter!**

Chapter 2: IA

"Monster!"

The crowd starts up its usual chant for me. I curl up in my small and cramped cage, full of dread.

"Time for the fun to start, you stupid creature," Al smirks, barging into my tent.

He unlocks my cage. I inch away from him as far as I can, but he drags me out anyway. Then he ties a piece of cloth around my eyes. The cloth is itchy and like sandpaper, so it scratches the skin around my eyes. It hurts.

I am walked to the main performance tent where the chants of the crowd get louder. My legs ache from being coped up in the iron prison for so long. Al forces me to the dusty, sharp ground. Then I begin to yell and make monster-like noises. The crowd jeers and throws small things like peanuts and popcorn at me.

I hear the loud _thud thud thud_ of Al's footsteps as he draws closer every second. I brace myself for the pain of his whip.

_WHIP! CRACK! _The swish of the whip as it makes contact with my back makes a noise even more terrifying than my yelling. A searing pain floods through my body. I feel like I am on fire.

But then again, I can't say I'm not used to it. I've been doing and feeling this for a year already. By the way, I'm 19 this year. It hasn't been the best birthday ever, to be exact.

After a few more whips, I feel Al's boot make contact with my head as he steps on me.

"The Circus Monster has been slain!" he roars heroically. The crowd screams in delight at the defeat of the Circus Monster, me.

I am forced back to my tent and into my small cage. Al whips the cloth away from me and leaves to room to conduct the next act, the taming of Miku Hatsune, the freak teenager.

Miku isn't actually a freak; when she was young, her mad brother poured acid on her, so she looks deformed. Unable to look at her, her parents sold her to the Circus when she was 12.

I feel the place around my eyes where the cloth touched. I feel like there is a weird liquid on it, and when I look down to my fingers, I see blood on them.

I sigh and use my ragged clothing to wipe my eyes. Then I hear the curtain door swish open. Instead of the _thud thud thud_ of Al's footsteps again, I hear a soft _tap tap tap_ of a female's shoes. I look up and see a beautiful girl making her way to me.

She has the lightest shade of hair I've ever seen in my life. Her hair is somewhere between the colour white and pink and left loose with a small chunk of it tied in a small fishtail braid. Her eyes are sapphire blue. Her skin is fair and she looks very demure and petite. She has a warm smile on her face. A strange sensation fills me: my heart is beating quicker in my chest than before, and I have a floating feeling in my stomach.

"Hello, Yuma," she greets, "I'm IA, your new Keeper."


	3. A new keeper?

**Hey guys~! Welcome back! Let's get started and dawn upon Yuma's perspective! Woo-hoo!**

Chapter 3: A new keeper?

I stare at IA with a puzzled expression on my face. A new keeper? What happened to Lola?

She must have seen the expression on my face, because she answers gently:

"Lola has been the latest victim of-er- an unfortunate accident," she says, "And she'll never wake up."

I process this silently. She'll never wake up? That surely means that she's dead. That's a pity. Lola, unlike her boss, was like Ann, very kind and gentle. She was a dreamer, and often she didn't attend to her duties. But nevertheless, I liked her as my keeper.

IA smiles and bends down near my cage. She extends a hand through the bars.

"Nice to meet you, Yuma," she grins, "Let's get to know each other better."

I stare into her deep blue eyes and see nothing but kindness in them. Slowly, I nod.

"Great! I'm IA. My real name is actually Isako Aiko, but I prefer to be known as IA, so please call me IA." She says, clapping her hands in delight.

She looks so adorable in that position. I feel my cheeks go warm.

"How about you?" she asks.

"I'm Yuma," my voice is croaky from not being used for such a long time (Al forbids me to talk), "I have no surname, well, not that my parents actually cared to tell me."

She looks sad. "Really? Never mind, I promise I'll give you care, because that was what I was employed for. Don't worry, Yuma!"

I smile weakly up at her. She holds out her pinky finger.

"It's a pinky promise," she informs me, "I know it's a childish thing to do, but I want to show you that I won't break it."

I stick out my pinky finger and our pinkies wrap around each others'. She beams and ruffles my hair, ignoring my freakishly weird green horns.

The bell rings, signalling that all keepers should assemble at the lunch tent. She gets up and heads to the door.

"See you later, Yuma!" she calls, and then she is gone.

**Argh! I know it was super short, but that's all I can manage for now. Please review! **


	4. The encounter with Gumi

**Hey guys! Welcome back to Just A Circus Monster! I would like to thank TopazVampire1999, One-x-Three and Mew SunsetStar for the reviews! I really appreciate it!**

**Well, now that the announcements are done…. Let's get back to IA!**

Chapter 4: The encounter with Gumi

(IA's P.O.V)

It's night time, just after the last act is done. I pick up my coat from the hanger and walk out of the staff tent. I can hear Rin and Len, the twin lions, roaring their heads off. I see their Keeper, Teto, running out of the tent.

"I can't do this anymore!" she cried, "I can't take it!"

Poor Teto. She always had a weak heart. She had been forced to take up this position, quite literally, by her Aunt. Nowadays, I fear that she might suddenly have a heart attack and die.

I continue walking out of the tent. I meet Bruno near his tent.

"Hola, amigo," he says, tipping his hat.

"Hello, Bruno," I reply, "How is Clara?"

"Oh, Clara está muy bien," he answers, "_Clara is fine."_

"Oh," Bruno is Clara's, a girl with three arms, Keeper, "Good to know that."

"Adiós, amigo," he says, and leaves, whistling merrily to himself.

I continue walking down. I catch sight of Gumi panting and looking very traumatised.

"What's wrong?" I ask, bending down and extending a hand to her.

She takes it, and I pull her up.

"Oh, the horror!" she says dramatically, "The portable toilet is full of POO! And I have a feeling Al did it..."

"You're not kidding…?"

"No way! I can show you it for proof!"

"No thank you?"

Gumi giggles at the expression on my face.

"Just kidding! Anyway, how is Yuma?"

"He's really sweet! Not like anything the crowd says about him. He's really nice, a good listener too. He's just like one of us. I don't know why Allan (Al) treats him like a monster,"

Gumi looks interested. "Really? Can you tell me more? I'm really interested to know! I mean, it's not the most exciting in in the world, to be a cleaner!"

"Well, Yuma likes unagi pie, and he's had an abusive past," I sigh heavily, "I wish I could do something, but I can't. Poor guy, he needs more love."

"More love?" Gumi asks, "Maybe you could give him some."

I am surprised. "Like how?"

A mischievous grin appears on Gumi's face. "Nothing~!" she sings, and skips away.

I stand, frozen, on the spot for awhile, before realizing what she means.

"GUMI MEGPOID, COME BACK HERE!" I holler, but she is gone.


	5. Sickness

**Hey guys~! Welcome back~` Thank you, all, for the reviews! They mean a lot to me! **

**Now, let's get started!**

Chapter 5: Sickness

(YUMA'S P.O.V)

"The Circus Monster has been slain!"

My head is slammed to the ground and the crowd screams and applauds Al. They throw roses at him while he smirks, waving, milking for all it's worth.

Then I am forced back to my tent. I don't even pay attention to Al's insults as he locks me back in my cage. Instead, I feel sick. I feel like I am slowly burning up. I feel…

"Yuma? What's wrong? Yuma?!"

IA's panic-filled voice rouses me to my senses. I see her staring at me, her eyes wide, her face pale, her body shaking with worry.

"Yuma! Answer me! Are you alright?!"

"W-what happened?" I ask, clutching my head.

"You just passed out!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Are you ill? I'll go call Allan-"

"No," I cut her off, "Al won't do anything. Actually, I think he would prefer it more if I died-"

"Then I'll call Gumi," she cuts _me_ across.

Before I can object, she rushes out of the tent.

In solitude, I sit, hugging my knees, thinking. Why is se so nice to me? What have I done to deserve her kindness?

"Who the what?" Gumi asks, walking in. IA follows her from behind.

"Yuma passed out!" IA tells her worriedly, "Is he alright?"

Gumi glances at me, and giggles to herself.

"Gumi!" IA's face is slightly pink, "Not again!"

Gumi tries to conceal her laughter, but fails.

What's so funny?

Gumi walks over and bends down. She reaches through the bars of my cage and feels my forehead.

"Ooh," she winces, withdrawing her hand, "It's burning! I think he has a fever."

"Then why did he pass out?" IA asks.

"Must be that he's not in a good condition. He should be rushed to a hospital ASAP," Gumi replies.

"But Allan won't-"

"YOLO!" Gumi yells, and runs out of the tent, "I'm going to ask him!"

IA sands there, looking out of the tent for awhile. Then she snaps back to reality.

"It's going to be alright, Yuma," she tells me softly, "Everything's going to be alright."

_Everything's going to be alright_, I tell myself.

And then my world turns black.


	6. A series of unpleasant events

**Hey guys! Welcome back! Thanks for the reviews, Keenakeen and TopazVampire1999! To Keenakeen: **_**Yes, I'll add Adelia into this story! Yay! Thanks for the idea!**_

**Anyway, here's the chapter!**

Chapter 6: The series of unpleasant events

(IA'S POV)

I look at Yuma and sigh. He's unconscious, again. _Poor guy,_ I think, _I wish Allan would give him a break….he's been worked too hard._

A girl with middle-length brown hair left loose walks in. She has a what-the-heck-am-I-even-doing-here look on her face. She looks carefree and a little irritable.

"Hello, Adelia," I say gloomily.

"Hey there, IA," she replies, sticking her hands in her pockets, "What's wrong with Yuma? Is he dead?"

"No," I say, doing a mental face-palm to myself, "He's breathing, see?"

"Nope," she answers flatly. I face-palm to myself again, "Anyway, I'm leaving this dump of a Circus forever. I resigned just now. Better scram before Al throws a fit."

"WHAAT?" I ask, shocked.

"Uh-huh!" she replies, her tone happy for once, "I can't stand this place!"

"But remember what happened to Prima?" I ask, "She left, and less than a day after that, Al hunted her down."

"Don't worry, Isako Aiko," she says in a calm voice, "My brothers are going to pick me up. If any wild Al starts stalking us, I'll tell him they've got guns."

"Woah," I muse in a fascinated voice.

Suddenly, Adelia's eyes fill up with tears. "I'm going to miss you, IA," she says, giving me a farewell hug.

"Me too," a single tear falls down my cheek. Adelia was my best friend. I hug her tightly.

"If anything goes wrong, just give me a call. My brothers and I will be here for you," she tells me, nodding.

"Okay…thanks…"

She walks out of the tent. I watch her. She breaks into a sprint as she sees a black Mercedes approach the front gates. Before she climbs in, she turns back, gives me a quick wave, and then she is gone.

I sigh and walk back into the tent. First Yuma. Now Adelia. What is going to happen next? I hope Al will accept our offer to bring Yuma to the hospital…

"IA!"

Gumi bursts into the tent. Yuma twitches slightly in his sleep (or whatever being in the state of unconsciousness is).

"What?" I ask, my spirits rising slightly.

"Bad news!" she pants, "Al is refusing to treat Yuma! He says that Yuma could die for all he cares!"

"WHAAT?!" it's my second outburst today.

"Uh-huh!" she replies, her tone serious, "That stupid pig-man says no, and he won't budge."

"I'm going to see him myself, "I say, brushing past her.

Ignoring her protests and warnings, I travel to Al's chambers.

_What, is this the third unpleasant event? _

_YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!_


End file.
